Help Bring the Voice of Nurses to the TED/TEDx Table

I love hearing people’s stories about their lives – their work, their family, their experiences of joy and of sorrow. Hearing the stories helps break down my misconceptions and false assumptions. The stories give me a deeper appreciation for life experiences that are far removed from my own. They teach me more about the depth and breadth of life.

This is the power and beauty of TED/TEDx Talks. People share stories and ideas in succinct, digestible talks that challenge your thinking about politics, culture, medicine, family, autism, psychology, technology, you name it.

But nursing? One of the top most trusted professions? The profession that brings nurses into such close contact with people during some of the most profound periods of their life? A search on the topic of nursing in the TED library brings up a beautiful Tribute to Nurses done by journalist Carolyn Jones, but otherwise the options that come up are only indirectly related to nurses and our practice.

If the general public is to understand, appreciate and support this profession that they trust and rely on so strongly, they need to hear our stories. They need to hear the real thoughts, the real experiences, the real heart of nurses.

This is why it is such an incredible privilege for me to have a TEDxTalk about nursing to share with the world: “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure.” Would you help strengthen my nurse voice by watching my Talk below (just under 10 minutes), and then sharing it with others (you can click on the right-facing arrow on the top right corner of the video, and choose your platform to share the video)? The more views I can get for my TEDxTalk, the greater chance I have of getting the Talk curated to the main TED site, which will finally bring a direct voice about nursing by a nurse to their library! For all we do, and all we bear in our hearts, we need our own clear voice to tell the world what they may not have fully considered or understood about this profession they trust so much.

Watch the Talk here, and then please share away!

YouTube Link for my TEDxTalk “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure”

On Sept 30 of this year, I had the incredible opportunity to give a TEDxTalk with TEDxPasadena on “How Grief Can Enable Nurses to Endure.” This talk is for all healthcare professionals, but nurses in particular, who have grieved with and for their patients and families, and have went home wondering what to do with this grief we bear in our hearts. This is not a standard inspirational talk with an underlying “You’re doing great!” tone. Rather, it is one that I deeply hope gives validation and voice to our humanity as nurses, and then gives a different perspective that allows us to live with our grief in a way that is honestly painful but ultimately life-giving.

Here is the link. Please share, for all the caregivers in your life, or perhaps, just for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SasMjDCSyR4